Key Takeaways
- Vertiberry founder Olivier Paulus discusses the company’s move from Belgium to Canada and its efforts to produce strawberries year-round.
- Vertiberry operates a 20,000 sq ft pilot facility outside Montréal, supplying fruit to Taste of the North.
- Strawberry propagation cycles of up to 18 months leave little room for error and require disciplined crop management.
- The company is expanding into starter-plant production to support growers seeking consistent propagation material.
- Paulus emphasizes a plant-first approach and the importance of honest crop assessment for new entrants.
Olivier Paulus and Vertiberry Establish Year-Round Strawberry Production in Québec
In the latest episode of Greenhouse Success Stories, Vertiberry founder Olivier Paulus detailed the company’s work to build predictable, year-round strawberry production in Québec. The facility is situated roughly 45 minutes outside Montréal in an agricultural development zone, where regional interest in food sovereignty continues to rise. Paulus noted that shifting global trade conditions have brought additional attention to controlled-environment food production.
From Belgium’s Indoor Farming Scene to North America
Before relocating operations, Olivier Paulus and his team operated in Belgium, producing herbs at commercial scale. Following the European energy crisis, Vertiberry evaluated new markets and conducted a multi-city visit across the U.S. and Canada. During that trip, the company connected with its first major customer—Taste of the North, a Québec distributor serving premium buyers in New England.
Customer Partnership Supporting Market Entry
Paulus noted that Taste of the North plays a key strategic role, not only purchasing Vertiberry’s strawberries but also coordinating small trial runs with additional retailers as the company scales.
